


To The Soil You Go

by witchbreaker



Series: Dreaming of Roads Unwalked Snippets [4]
Category: Dreaming of Sunshine, Naruto
Genre: AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 02:24:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9578336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchbreaker/pseuds/witchbreaker
Summary: Danzo approaches Shikaku like he approached Shibi and Shikako is sent to ROOT.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, so Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen has a pretty vibrant fandom and I've been writing AUs for it in the forum for years. I've decided to start posting the AUs to my AO3 account so that I can get them all in one place and update whenever I feel like it without disturbing the flow of the threads.
> 
> This AU is a version of the ROOT!Shikako AU. You can find the beginning of it in the We're All Just Dreaming of Sunshine forum, Recursive Thread, post #7090 aka page 237. There are other authors who have written in it to so please check out the thread if you want to see more.

Shikako isn't an interest to Danzo until she enters the Academy. He gets a report of this year's entrance and spends time going through those that might prove useful to ROOT. They have only been in school for a month but he finds that that is plenty of time to judge the five and six year olds. Her standing is not unusual except for the diagnose of chakra sensitivity. The fact that she is placing in the middle of the rankings speaks of potential. He takes her with minimal fussing from her parents.

(Or so he thinks. Shikaku and Yoshino can't do anything now but Danzo will pay for this.)

_The last thing that Dad said to her was "I'm sorry." Considering he hands her off to Danzo, to ROOT, Shikako isn't sure whether to accept it or not. She's pretty sure that Dad has no idea how bad Danzo is, or the fifty-percent mortality rate of his final exam, but he can't not know that this is a black-ops-training-from-hell program. He's the Jonin Commander so he has to have some idea._

_And it's bad. Danzo doesn't believe in easing people into things even if they are kids. Shikako fights every day just to keep herself going. She meets a boy named Torune Aburame and learns that he volunteered in place of his cousin, Shino. That knowledge scares her. That the only thing that kept a clan-heir out of ROOT was another member offering themselves up in their place. How can Danzo be that powerful? What hopes does she have of being able to do anything against that?_

_Shikako doesn't know what she's going to do. She has to keep her knowledge out of Danzo's hands, but...how?_

Naruto sees Shikamaru trudge into the classroom with Chouji and Ino hovering around him and....Shikako isn't anywhere to be seen. That's so weird. Shikako always comes to class with Shikamaru.

"Hey, hey, hey! Shikamaru!" Naruto shouts as he runs over. "Where's Shikako?"

"She's not coming to the Academy." Shikamaru grounds out. (If Naruto was more observant he'd would have noticed how scripted that sounds.) Naruto frowns.

"Is she sick? Is she going to be okay? Can I bring her ramen later? There's a really good ramen shop and I'd bet that'd fix her right up." Because ramen fixes everything.

"She's not sick. Mom and Dad pulled her from the Academy." Shikamaru says as he shoves past him. Naruto is shocked and quickly catches up to him.

"Why?! Is she okay?!" Naruto might as well be shouting as he crowds right into Shikamaru's space. (Keen eyes tell that the Nara is very close to snapping and taking a swing at Uzumaki. Something bad must have happened to his twin.)

"Good god Naruto! Shut up!" Ino snaps out, grabbing Naruto by his collar. "Go away, you're being annoying!" Ino likes Naruto, somedays, but Shikamaru comes first and he's hurting and Naruto is just making it worse.

"But what happened to Shikako?!"

It's at this moment that Iruka-sensei arrives and gets his class under control. He has to pull Naruto out into the hall to calm the boy down but eventually, things get started. (Shino has watched all of this and does not feel ridiculous for drawing parallels between Shikako's disappearance and the disappearance of his cousin Torune. He will mention it to his father that night and get a non-answer that tells him he is correct. Later, he will give Shikamaru his sympathies and information on possible allies.)

_Shikako gasps. Her body shudders. She can feels the moss underneath her that was so different from the cold tile she was standing on previously. She's out of ROOT. Away from Danzo and his seals and his mind-readers. Even if he knows where she went, he'll never be able to find her. It doesn't feel like it will matter. She's out of chakra. All of it was burned up in the reverse summons. There's not a drop left in her body. She feels like she is dying and, no, that is not an exaggeration. She understands now how it kills so many ninja._

_But...Shikako once lived a life devoid of chakra. Once breathed without it's help and moved without it's assistance. She still has trouble using it because it's so alien to her. Even after Danzo's hellish training, it still takes concentrated effort to use it._

_So, Shikako lies on the ground and her twenty years of another life out weigh her six of this one. She breathes. She pushes herself up. Chakra-less, hungry, tired. She's in the middle of a forest. This could be bad. Branches tussle as a summons comes out into the open._

_"Hello." Shikako sways on her feet but it pays to be polite. If the summons doesn't like her, she is screwed. The summons looks down at her and sees a tiny child. Not fit to fight or summon but children should be protected. At least until this one can go back home. It picks her up and Shikako has never felt more relieved._


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean _she's dead?!_ " If it were anyone else, Shikaku raising his voice would have had the person in question terrified, but said person was Danzo so he merely gripped his cane tighter.

"As in dead, Nara-san." He snaps. He detests having to admit his mistakes especially to someone like Shikaku.

"Where is the body?" Shikaku is not going to believe this until he sees it with his own eyes.

"There isn't one. Your daughter reversed summoned herself yesterday without having signed a summoning scroll." He doesn't need to tell Shikaku that such an act is a death sentence for a six year old and he's _certainly_ not going to tell him that she did so to get out of her first session in mental defense with Fu.

"How did you let that happen!?"

"I was not aware that she knew how do to so and by the time I knew she attempted it it was too late." Danzo grits out. Shikaku is practically shaking with rage. Then he goes still and Danzo knows that what happens next will be unpleasant.

"This is unforgivable." Shikaku says before turning on his heels and slamming the door as he leaves. Danzo orders him to be followed. Shikaku knows and really doesn't care. He needs to get to Sembei and get her summoning scroll. Deer is the most likely option that Shikako's summons would have gone to. He needs get to their lands and find his girl. Or her body. Shikaku should prepare himself for the latter but he keeps thinking that Shikako wouldn't have attempted such a thing unless she thought she could have survived.

Or ROOT was so bad that Shikako preferred death, his mind whispers to him. He knew their training was brutal, knew that she was suffering, but he didn't think it was that bad. He had thought that he had time unseat Danzo and get his daughter back.

"Where is your summoning scroll?" He demands of his cousin once he's crossed the threshold of her home. Sembei takes one look at him and scrambles to her feet. Thankfully, she says nothing as she gets the item. He scans the scroll. It is a one time use contract so he'll have to be careful. Taking a breath, Shikaku tries to compose himself. It won't do to be raging when dealing with Deer.

"Summoning no jutsu." Shikaku has never preformed a summoning but he can feel the call go out and something answer it.

"Who calls?" Heijomaru bellows. Shikaku has seen him on the battle field before and he looks just like he did back then. The Deer appears to be happy to see Sembei but not Shikaku. "Son of the forest, why have you called me?"

"My daughter preformed a reverse summons yesterday." He explains. "Did she end up in your lands?"

"Yes." The Deer lowers his head, clearly unhappy. "There was no chakra left in her body."

Shikaku's heart breaks. "Can I have the body?" He rasps out.

"No, we will not accept you as our summoner. To bring her here we would have to do so." Heijomaru turns to his old summoner. "I am sorry my old friend but this is the last time we will see each other." He gently headbutts her. Sembei wraps her arms around his horns.

"Worse ways to say goodbye." She says as her eyes bore into Shikaku demanding to know what happened. "Won't you reconsider? There are some good kids in my clan."

"Considering what happened to the daughter of the forest, your clan has fallen far. Please watch yourself." With that, Heijomaru is gone and Shikaku stands in the empty field.

"Shikaku-sama, what is going on?" He doesn't answer her. Instead, he turns on his heel and leaves. A plan forms as he walks home. Heijomaru didn't actually _confirm_ that Shikako is dead, he just suggested it. Further more, his last words suggest that the Deer knew Shikako hadn't just been experimenting with jutsu she shouldn't have which meant she had been alive when she got to the Deer Lands. Had lived long enough to explain what she had done and why. That is not something possible when suffering from extreme chakra debt.

_Unless Danzo's training session left marks this time. The kinds that the Deer would be able to see and know they weren't by accident._

Not helpful. Shikaku will figure that out when he gets control of ROOT. Then he'll be able to find out what really happened and know if his daughter is alive for certain. His home comes into view and Shikaku decides to focus on his new priorities. He can't build a plan unless he knows what he wants. He crosses the threshold and knows three things for certain.

Shikaku won't abandon Konoha. It's his home and will always be his home. He also can't live in a place where he is forced to give up children. Where one would risk certain death, kill herself, to get free of Danzo's grip. This is not what he has fought his whole life for. The last thing that Shikaku knows is that the Uchiha are planning a coup. It's a fool's errand as they have no hope of succeeding but that clan is desperate. Danzo has slowly driven them into the corner for years. Shikaku stood back and watched because it wasn't his problem. Because someone in their clan was responsible for the Tenth and he was 70% sure they were covering for them. He, like others, had let Danzo's power grow because it didn't effect him. Like a fool, he had underestimated Shimura's strength and guts and now his daughter has paid the price.

So, Danzo has to go and the only one who can do that is the Hokage. The Sandaime is too weak to do it. Between the lack of political clout, his love for his teammate, and Danzo's own power it would be impossible for him to. Therefor, Shikaku needs a new Hokage. One that will not allow children to be separated from their clans and one who has plenty of reason to get rid of Danzo. With the Akimichi-Nara-Yamanaka Alliance, Uchiha, and Aburame, it should be possible. Shikaku can find the other clans that Danzo has taken from and since he has every intention of letting all of Konoha know that Danzo got his daughter killed in a 'training accident' he can give them plenty of reasons to fear for their own children.

"Shikaku? What's wrong?" Yoshino asks as she sees him. "Is it Shikako?"

"Yes," He says grimly. "We need to talk."


End file.
